Wastewater Consulting

Stormwater flows from pipes into a stream

Publications

Rethinking Wet Weather Water Quality Standards

How does Exponent support wastewater compliance and risk management?

Wastewater challenges rarely arise in isolation. Treatment system maintenance and performance, influent variability, regulatory requirements, and operational decisions are frequently interrelated. Changes to one or more elements may result in compliance issues such as permit exceedances or system failures, which can lead to regulatory enforcement and disputes. Our scientists and engineers help industrial clients and municipalities evaluate the full system, understand risk drivers, and provide solutions.

When the stakes are high you can rely on our multidisciplinary teams for trusted expertise and support to make sound decisions. We draw on decades of experience and deep expertise in engineering, chemistry, environmental science, and regulatory compliance to support both proactive decision-making and effective response.

How We Help Clients

Industrial facilities face significant consequences when wastewater treatment falls short — from disrupted operations and permit violations to downstream liability and reputational risks. With decades of experience evaluating complex industrial systems, Exponent helps you determine whether pretreatment and treatment systems are operating effectively and as intended, identify root causes of performance issues, and assess the effects of industrial discharges on municipal treatment plants and receiving waters.
We address complex challenges involving chemical mixtures, metals, salinity, temperature, color, corrosion, and odor, including situations where industrial wastewater disrupts municipal treatment processes or becomes the focus of regulatory or legal scrutiny.
When permit compliance, system performance, or accountability is in question, municipalities need independent technical expertise they can rely on and stand behind. Our scientists and engineers help you clarify what went wrong and why and identify opportunities for improvement. Our work spans assessments of influent characteristics and recycled water, evaluations of emerging contaminants, process evaluations, failure analysis, and operational and regulatory support.
Permit violations, regulatory uncertainty, and evolving compliance obligations can expose you to significant financial and legal risk. Exponent provides the technical support and clarity needed to navigate Clean Water Act, NPDES, and pretreatment requirements, offering actionable guidance based on how your system actually operates.
Our regulatory compliance experts support both municipal and industrial clients with state and Clean Water Act requirements, including permit interpretation, discharge and exceedance assessments, and regulatory engagement. For industrial facilities, we address discharge permitting and pretreatment compliance obligations, where process changes, new chemicals, or evolving standards affect wastewater characterization, permit limits, and downstream impacts on receiving systems.
Municipal and industrial wastewater disputes often occur when systems fail, permit limits are violated, enforcement actions are initiated, or responsibility for non-compliance is contested. Exponent gives you objective, technically rigorous analysis so you can resolve high‑stakes matters effectively.
Our multidisciplinary teams support municipal clients by investigating treatment failures, permit exceedances, biosolids issues, and conflicts involving industrial contributors, and we assist industrial clients in disputes related to pretreatment performance, equipment failures, discharge impacts, and compliance enforcement matters. We evaluate system design, operations, influent conditions, and regulatory requirements to deliver defensible analyses for litigation, enforcement response, and resolution.
Treatment systems operating near permit limits have little margin for error. Process variability, equipment issues, or changes in influent can quickly lead to exceedances. Exponent supports optimization and troubleshooting of municipal and industrial wastewater systems, giving you a path to improved reliability, resilience, and regulatory performance.
We work with municipalities, industrial clients, and their contract operations staff to evaluate where treatment processes are underperforming and identify the factors limiting system capacity or reliability. Our teams apply the same system‑level perspective to industrial wastewater systems, helping operators reduce risk and avoid recurring failures.
Regulatory requirements for solids and biosolids management are stringent, making maintaining consistent, compliant operations a demanding process. Exponent helps you manage evolving questions about biosolids treatment, reuse, disposal, and the presence of emerging contaminants such as PFAS.
Our regulatory experts also assist industrial clients with solid and semi-solid treatment byproducts — such as sludge and chemical precipitates — including characterization, regulatory evaluation, and dispute support where reuse or disposal practices are challenged.
For industrial operators, wastewater compliance vulnerabilities that go unexamined can escalate into enforcement actions, litigation, and operational disruption. Exponent conducts wastewater characterization and risk assessments that give operators a clear picture of wastewater composition, permit exposure, and the compliance implications of operational process changes.
Drawing on process knowledge, historical data, and analytical results, our teams evaluate the presence and behavior of regulated constituents — including PFAS, metals, organics, and other complex compounds — to give you a scientifically grounded basis for making informed decisions.

Our Capabilities Are Unparalleled

With deep expertise in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, characterization, permitting, and dispute resolution, Exponent delivers technically rigorous analysis that helps clients manage risk and resolve complex challenges.

Water Consulting

Exponent's multidisciplinary scientists bring decades of experience and unparalleled water resources expertise to guide complex, high-stakes decision-makin...

Hazmat worker performs hazardous material cleanup. Exponent provides technical support for all types of industrial contamination

Industrial Contamination Management

Expert environmental services for a range of complex industrial contamination challenges.

Development of Guarding for a Corrugated-Box Machine

Product Stewardship

Exponent evaluates health, safety, and environmental risks of products from manufacturing to disposal, providing comprehensive product stewardship support.

Scientist pipette liquid samples into a test container

PFAS Consulting Services

Manage PFAS in your products, supply chains, and waste streams.

Crop consultant analyzes corn plants mid-summer. Exponent consultants help improve yield and safety of ag products.

Environmental Assessment & Remediation

Conduct timely, accurate site assessment to identify risks and remediation options.

Heavy smog over the city. Exponent helps you accurately assess environmental impacts and business liabilities associated with contamination.

Chemical Fate & Transport

Accurately assess environmental impacts and business liabilities associated with contamination.

RELEVANT RIGHT NOW

How are emerging contaminants changing wastewater management?

Addressing emerging contaminants — including pharmaceuticals, PFAS, BPA, phthalates, microplastics, and nanomaterials — requires advanced treatment technologies beyond conventional methods. Membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes, and targeted biological treatments can capture or degrade many compounds, but effectiveness varies by contaminant and site-specific constraints.

PFAS present particular challenges, often requiring specialized approaches such as granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins, or high-pressure membrane systems. BPA and phthalates may respond to advanced oxidation, though removal efficiency depends on treatment design and operating conditions. Evolving regulatory guidance continues to shape monitoring, removal, and risk mitigation strategies.

How can utilities and industrial facilities drive reliability and efficiency improvements in wastewater treatment processes?

Energy optimization in wastewater treatment can be achieved by integrating high-efficiency equipment, automating process controls, and implementing energy recovery systems such as anaerobic digesters that generate biogas. Conducting regular audits and benchmarking energy use against industry standards helps identify areas for improvement. Operators also benefit from real-time monitoring and predictive analytics, which enable proactive adjustments, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining compliance and operational reliability.

How can data centers address cooling water discharge challenges?

Data centers often rely on large-scale cooling systems that generate significant volumes of blowdown water, which can concentrate dissolved solids, corrosion inhibitors, and other chemical additives used for system maintenance. Managing this water presents challenges, as contaminant concentrations may exceed typical wastewater thresholds, requiring specialized treatment or disposal strategies.

Additionally, blowdown water is frequently discharged at elevated temperatures, contributing to thermal pollution in receiving waters and potentially disrupting local ecosystems. Environmental engineers and scientists can help clients address these issues through in-depth source characterization, modeling how maintenance chemicals impact water quality, risk assessments to evaluate the potential ecological and regulatory impacts of blowdown discharges, and support with regulatory and permitting processes.

Experts

Our global and comprehensive expertise across industries gives us a deep understanding of current challenges, best industry practices, and the implications of emerging technologies.